Starcross Manor

by Christie Barlow

  ‘Ha, I do! That wedding was the talk of the town, and not for the right reasons.’

  ‘Well, the guy who dumped her at the altar… Flynn Carter… owns all this.’ Julia swept her hand in the air. ‘And what do you mean, not for the right reasons?’

  ‘Flynn Carter owns this place, Starcross Manor?’ Callie was amazed. ‘Wasn’t he the one who flattened Grandad’s house?’

  ‘The very one.’

  ‘Wow! That’s a turn-up for the books. Did he recognise you?’ asked Callie, topping up the champagne.

  ‘Not at first, but I soon reminded him. You won’t believe what I found when I arrived.’ Julia took a breath and told Callie all about the untruthful magazine article. ‘Flynn declared to the world that he was the one who’d been dumped!’

  ‘But he was the one who was dumped,’ shared Callie, nodding at her cousin. ‘Everything in that article was the truth.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Why would you say that? I was there that day. When I came back from the shops, Anais was distraught, her wedding dress cut to shreds, and Flynn had left her for someone else… on their wedding day! And when I FaceTimed her the other day after Flynn denied that he’d jilted her, she basically told me to stay away from him as he wasn’t to be trusted. And now she’s disappeared off Facebook, which is all very sudden and bizarre.’

  Callie shook her head. ‘Okay, the way he went about Grandad’s house was wrong – but you managed to make your start in life, and I received some money too…’

  ‘And he has apologised for that,’ interrupted Julia. ‘And he’s helped out so much to get the B&B back up and running after the flood, including putting my guests up in his hotel rooms. I couldn’t have done it without him.’

  ‘But going back to the wedding for a moment – Anais Brown wasn’t the victim that day. She’d been having an affair with Brendan Stack, a petty criminal. Flynn’s career was taking off, he was on his way to making his first million, and Anais couldn’t believe her luck when he walked into her estate agents that day. And here’s the reason I know… remember Louise, my good friend? She worked in that estate agents too.’

  ‘And is that how you know all this?’

  Callie nodded. ‘Louise’s parents were Anais’s godparents, and best friends with Anais’s parents. She’d spun them a line that she’d been jilted to save face, but the truth was, Flynn had discovered her little game. She and Brendan were planning on ripping off his fortune, but Flynn knew something wasn’t right, so a couple of days before the wedding he produced a pre-nup for Anais to sign, which of course scuppered her plans. She wasn’t going to be able to divorce him in a couple of years, taking half of everything.’

  Julia let out a low whistle. ‘Are you absolutely sure about this?’ she asked, thinking that, with the performance Anais had put on that day, she deserved an Oscar.

  ‘Absolutely sure. Everyone thought Flynn was to blame, his only downfall was falling in love with Anais – but luckily for him, he never married her.’

  ‘It’s like something out of a movie,’ Julia was genuinely amazed. ‘I’m absolutely gobsmacked. How can anyone be that devious?’

  ‘Anais was.’

  ‘How did it all come out?’

  ‘The truth always comes out. Apparently, Anais called her parents, putting on an act just like she did with you, but forgot to end the call. They heard her talking to Brendan and heard everything… disowned her.’

  Julia was still shaking her head in disbelief. ‘She actually cut up the wedding dress, tried to slur his name, and it was all her.’

  ‘It was all her. Apparently there were angry family members hounding him at the time and so Flynn took himself away from social media, and he never told his side of the story. He just tried to move on and wanted the whole sorry affair to go away.’

  ‘And why did you never tell me any of this?’ Julia’s jaw was still somewhere near the bottom of the hot tub. She couldn’t get her head around the lies Anais had told. The shame of it all – and poor Flynn. Julia knew she’d been wary of Flynn, but she’d told everyone in the village that he was untrustworthy, and he had gone out of his way to help her. ‘I feel dreadful.’

  ‘He’s probably a nice, genuine bloke,’ replied Callie.

  Julia was feeling guilty and ashamed that she had treated Flynn so badly. She cringed thinking about the confrontation in the kitchen at the B&B after she’d stumbled across the magazine article at the dentist.

  ‘There’s no point feeling dreadful.’ Callie was the voice of reason. ‘If you didn’t know, you didn’t know, and all you did was act on what you saw that day.’

  Callie was right, but that still didn’t help the churned-up feeling in Julia’s stomach. She knew she really needed to apologise to Flynn – again!

  ‘Do you think that’s why Anais has taken herself off Facebook after I contacted her to tell her Flynn had turned up?’ Julia couldn’t believe she’d been taken in by Anais, who had deliberately gone out of her way to ruin Flynn’s reputation just in case the truth had been discovered. Now knowing the truth, Julia was impressed with how Flynn had conducted himself with such dignity, unlike Anais who had manipulated the whole situation.

  ‘Oh yes, without a doubt, Brendan went down for armed robbery, and I know she got married again. Anais wouldn’t want her past coming back to haunt her. Her parents still don’t speak to her.’

  ‘I’m not surprised!’ Julia couldn’t get it out of her mind, it was just awful what she’d done to Flynn, but Callie was right: the truth always comes out.

  ‘Forget all that now.’ Callie looked up at the stars. ‘That view is amazing!’ She clinked her glass against Julia’s. ‘Happy birthday, and I’m sorry about the ghost-hunting, we didn’t mean to frighten you.’

  ‘You’re not sorry at all!’

  ‘You’re right, I’m not,’ Callie laughed.

  Julia lowered her shoulders into the water and took a sip of her champagne. ‘This is the life. I think I’m going to quite like being forty!’

  ‘But the question still remains: if I’m successful in my job interview here, would you have room for me?’ Callie tipped her head to the side and placed her glass on the edge of the tub before putting her hands together in a prayer.

  ‘As much as it’s sad you’ve split up with Dan, his loss is my absolute gain. I’ve always room for you.’

  ‘Thank you, thank you. Fingers crossed I get the job, because even though I’ve only been here a few hours, Heartcross seems a very special place.’

  ‘It is,’ agreed Julia.

  Just at that second music started playing out from the speakers at the side of the hot tub. Julia looked up to see all her friends spilling through the patio doors. Everyone was dressed in their swimsuits holding their glasses of champagne. ‘Let the party begin,’ jollied Eleni, dropping her towel and slipping into the hot tub next to Julia and Callie. She looked between the pair of them. ‘What have I missed? Any gossip?’

  ‘You aren’t going to believe what I’m going to tell you!’ Julia told Eleni as she topped up her champagne glass.

  ‘I’m intrigued,’ admitted Eleni. ‘Very intrigued.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  Julia was curled up on the settee with Woody by her side, and Callie was sprawled out in the armchair with her legs dangling over the edge. They’d been up until 4am, chatting and laughing in the hot tub, followed by a mini disco on the decking. They’d all fallen into bed and each cabin was woken up just after ten o’clock with a light rap on the door. With a slight hangover, Julia managed to manoeuvre herself out of bed to discover a waiter wearing a huge smile standing next to a trolley containing numerous stainless steel cloches and pots of tea and coffee, and singing ‘Breakfast!’ at the top of his voice. Each log cabin received the same treatment and when the waiter wheeled the trolley onto the decking, they were amazed to see a Full Scottish breakfast being served for each and every one of them, courtesy of Flynn.

  ‘How was your birthday?’ Callie asked, s
mothering her breakfast in brown sauce.

  ‘The best, one I’ll remember for a long time,’ Julia said with such warmth. This was what living your best life was all about: good company, the best food, and the perfect location.

  ‘I’d say he was a keeper,’ whispered Callie in Julia’s ear.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Flynn. He’s got a soft spot for you. Look at all this, not to mention last night’s feast, endless bottles of champagne – and those gorgeous peonies.’

  When Julia’s head had hit the pillow last night, she had to admit the last thing on her mind before she fell asleep had been Flynn. Jack had been right: he was a good, genuine man. Yes, when he’d first started out in business, he’d been young and thirsty to make money, but he’d proved he’d changed his ways, certainly in the last few days.

  The fluttering in her stomach had changed from an anxious one to a warm one every time she saw him. He wasn’t the man Anais had made him out to be – far from it – and her opinion of him had started to change even before Callie had told her the truth. Last night had been perfect enough, and she really wasn’t expecting breakfast. Her thoughts of Flynn were interrupted as a knock sounded on the log cabin’s door.

  ‘I’ll go,’ said Eleni, bounding towards the door before anyone else could offer.

  ‘It’s Flynn,’ shouted Eleni, walking back through the log cabin followed by a cheery Flynn holding another silver cloche.

  ‘How’s the birthday girl?’ His eyes twinkled as he looked towards Julia.

  ‘Maybe a little bit of a sore head,’ she grinned.

  He held out a small gift bag in front of her. ‘I have one more present.’

  ‘Really, for me?’

  ‘Yes, for you!’ Flynn handed over the bag.

  Sheer pleasure mixed with apprehension ran through Julia as she looked inside.

  ‘Ta-dah!’ Julia threw her head back, and laughed, and waved a packet of paracetamol in her hand. ‘You really have thought of everything, this is the best present.’

  ‘Now they have been safely delivered, I need to go and get ready for the meeting tonight. I hope to see you all there – and don’t worry about tidying up this place, I’ve got the cleaners lined up for when you leave.’

  ‘Thanks Flynn, all this has been amazing.’ Julia meant every word.

  ‘It’s my pleasure.’

  As he walked back through the log cabin followed by Julia, he looked over his shoulder. ‘Pink,’ he said, ‘good choice.’

  ‘I told you pink would be the best. The furnishings in here are amazing.’

  As Flynn stepped outside, he turned towards her. ‘I hope the hangover isn’t too bad.’

  ‘Not too bad,’ she replied, not wanting to admit her head was pounding and sleeping for the rest of the day seemed like the perfect plan. ‘Flynn, I meant it when I said thank you for all this, and the flowers, they were stunning. It was a fantastic evening.’ Without thinking about it, Julia leant forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

  ‘What was that for?’ he asked softly, his lips dangerously close to hers.

  ‘For making my birthday the best,’ her voice wavered, exhilarated by the electricity between them.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ he murmured, still holding her gaze.

  ‘You will.’

  Leaning against the door frame Julia wrapped her arms around her body and watched Flynn disappear up the path towards the woodlands. Never for a second did she ever think she would be thanking Flynn Carter for the best birthday. It’s funny how you never know what is round the corner, and Julia was first to admit she’d massively misjudged Flynn when she’d first bumped back into him after all that time – but now Julia was looking forward to bumping into him a little more. Her heart gave a little leap at the very thought.

  Chapter Twenty

  It was a quarter to seven and Julia and Callie moseyed through the grand entrance of Starcross Manor. Callie marvelled at the beauty of the place. Last night when they’d arrived it had been dark, but now in the early evening light she stood and took in the beauty of it all. ‘Okay, I can see why you might have been worried about the future of the B&B, this place is magnificent!’

  ‘And tonight, everyone will find out about our arrangement and what Flynn has planned for them. I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces.’ Julia pushed open the door and Callie stepped inside and whistled.

  ‘I feel like I’m trespassing inside a royal palace or somewhere. Look at this place. So this is what a five-star hotel looks like.’

  Julia noticed a sign with an arrow in front of the grand reception desk. ‘The meeting is through there,’ she pointed to the double doors to the right of the reception. As they walked through the foyer and followed the arrows Julia heard the sound of water. She smiled as she noticed the floor-standing fountain in exactly the place she had suggested. The water was cascading into a small pool at the foot of the fountain. It was stunning, the sound of water soothing, and the perfect centrepiece for the room.

  The signs led them to a room Julia hadn’t been in before. It was a typical conference room with rows and rows of chairs facing a small stage and a lonely microphone on a stand right in the middle of it. Along the back wall was a long table full of cups and saucers next to aluminium urns with a wide selection of teas, coffees, and plates of biscuits. The windows were again floor to ceiling with magnificent regal-like drapes framing the windows.

  Eleni had saved them a couple of seats a few rows from the front. Everyone from the village was there waiting in anticipation to find out what Flynn had to say. Julia felt a little guilty knowing exactly what was going on, especially when she noticed a red-faced Hamish armed with a notepad and pen – even though she’d managed to talk him into doing the right thing regarding the contractors, he obviously wasn’t going to let anyone walk all over him. As soon as Flynn stepped into the room the babble of voices died down and everyone quickly became seated.

  Julia’s eyes were fixed on Flynn as he walked onto the stage and stood poised in front of the microphone. Looking like he’d just walked off a catwalk, he oozed class wearing a modern, classic pin-dot weave wool blazer slipped over a two-tone striped crew neckline tee – a relaxed take on business wear, but sophisticated and sexy.

  ‘He does scrub up well, doesn’t he?’ whispered Callie in Julia’s ear, and she wasn’t going to disagree. ‘I’ll enjoy working for him when I do get the job.’

  Julia nudged Callie’s arm. ‘You are full of yourself.’

  ‘You better pray I do get that job, because then I won’t be under your feet.’

  ‘Can’t wait,’ Julia rolled her eyes playfully. It was great to have Callie back and of course Julia had everything crossed that Callie did get the job if it meant she was sticking around for a while.

  ‘Thank you all for coming,’ Flynn looked around the room and acknowledged everyone with a nod of the head. ‘I bet you are all wondering why I’ve invited you here this evening, so I’ll cut to the chase and won’t leave you all hanging on. I’m here to put your minds at rest,’ he took a breath and looked directly at Julia who felt herself blush. ‘Starcross Manor is not here to jeopardise anyone’s business; in fact, quite the opposite. I want to work with you all to make our businesses the best they can be. I want to support the community the best I can. Last week, I had a meeting with Julia Coleman and Julia kindly pointed out to me the uncertainty that surrounded the opening of Starcross Manor. It is my belief we can work together, and I would really like to become a part of this fantastic community in Heartcross. I do believe there is enough room and business in this village for all of us.’ Flynn took a breath and looked down at the piece of paper in his hand.

  Julia took a swift glance around the room and all eyes were on Flynn, he was holding their attention.

  ‘Firstly, I have one of the best chefs – world-famous Andrew Glossop – cooking up a storm in my kitchen here at Starcross Manor. We believe in only the best fresh local ingredients and produce, so I’m pro
posing, if it’s okay with you…’ Flynn looked over towards Drew and Isla. ‘That you can supply all of the meats, eggs, milk, cheese and potatoes on a daily basis to this hotel.’

  By the look on Drew’s face it was more than alright. ‘That will be very lucrative,’ muttered Isla, looking impressed.

  ‘And I believe you make the best sausages.’

  ‘You better believe it,’ replied Drew, looking very proud.

  ‘Hamish,’ Flynn scanned the room. ‘I believe you grow the best fruit, veg and herbs from the allotments, so we would like to work with yourself to supply seasonal fruits and veg.’

  Immediately, Hamish’s face softened, and he nodded his appreciation.

  ‘Also, the shop here at Starcross Manor will work with you and will get all our supplies of newspapers and fizzy drinks from you, so that the village shop will continue to grow and flourish.’

  Everyone burst into a round of applause. It reminded Julia of a political speech. Flynn was just about to be elected by the whole of the community. He carried on with such charisma, he had the village hooked on his every word. ‘I believe only the best cream teas will ever come from Bonnie’s teashop, so I would like to propose we double your afternoon orders and you supply Starcross Manor.’

  Felicity looked towards her mum and they both turned back towards Flynn. ‘I’m proposing we extend Bonnie’s teashop into the café here at Starcross. Any cakes and scones will be made by yourselves and sold here.’

  Rona was beaming and nudged Felicity. ‘Perfect.’

  Felicity bit down on her lip and nodded at her mum, knowing the potential to supply the hotel could be a huge boost to their income.

  ‘Each bedroom here at Starcross will hold an information pack, which will include any local business in this community – walk-with-alpaca days, roast dinners at the Grouse and Haggis…’ Flynn searched the crowd for Fraser and Meredith. ‘And I’d like to talk to you about supplying the local ales to our restaurants, too.’